Prompts
by Chromical
Summary: Simply as it says. A collection of prompts, mostly from 'Fully Combustive Material For the Fanfic Author'. It's a forum on this site. Visit it!
1. Finish What You Started

This fic is just a collection of short prompts, mostly gotten from 'Fully Combustive Material For the Fanfic Author!'. It's a great forum. Visit it.

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**"Finish what you start, begin what you end."**

It would be much easier to divide that into parts, wouldn't it?

**"Finish what you start."**

I guess finishing what I started is how I got into this entire mess. I started our afflictions. I made Al do something he didn't want to do, and what happened then?

Madness.

I want to finish his pain. I want to end the time he's spent in that suit of armor. Why? I guess there's a selfish reason behind it. Every time I look at him, my heart sinks a little. The guilt seeps into my being a little bit more.

Somehow, I'll finish what I started. No matter what.

**"Begin what you end."**

I basically ended Al's life- as a normal child, at the very least. He can't do the things that make people human. He can't cry, or feel, or smell. Al used to be able to do all those things- I ended that era in his life.

This time, I'm trying to begin his life again. Bring him back to normal.

Begin what I ended.


	2. Metal Never Lasts

It was an ordinary day. Edward and I were back in Risembool again for Edward to get his automail adjusted. It was a yearly thing, a (slightly unpleasant, according to Edward) ritual. It was one of the only constants in our lives, besides each other. Edward had just gotten his automail reattached, and was wincing as he tested out each movement.

"Now that I'm fixed up, it's your turn, Al!" He said somewhat weakly. Adjustments always took a lot out of him. I sat down and started removing my chestplate.

It had been part of our yearly ritual to update my blood seal. Every year, Edward would prick his finger and retrace the blood seal, slowly and carefully. It wasn't painful, but I didn't like having my only weak spot exposed. This year, however, my mind was on different things. As Edward pricked his finger and retraced the blood seal, I was thinking about his automail adjustments.

Edward's automail never seemed to last long, mostly because he got into so many insane situations with it. He'd seen it get melted, snapped in half, destroyed Scar-style, twisted into a knot, and various other things that looked vaguely painful. It was almost lucky he had that arm, or else he probably would have died by now. Metal didn't need to last. It could be fixed, replaced, transmuted from scrap metal… but flesh needed to last. You could never replace flesh and bone. I shivered, thinking about that.

_Flesh lasted…Metal didn't._

_You can never replace flesh._

"B-brother, I'll last a long time in this body, right?" I said as Edward clambered out of me. Edward sighed, looking down. I looked at his right arm, metallic and cold. It never lasted a long time… could I?

"I've been thinking about that too," He said. "The suit itself will last a long time. You don't need to worry about rusting or anything." He started latching on the chestplate, a distant look in his eye. "The blood seal is a completely different matter. If we don't refresh it every year, you're a goner. And even then, it might wear off at any time.

"The thing is, I don't think it'll last very long. It's only a temporary fix. This," He banged on my chest, "Is a makeshift body. When I was affixing your soul to it, I was only thinking one thing-'Bring him back!' I didn't think about the consequences, or what life would be like. When connections are made that quickly, they break off quickly, too." I looked at my hand, examining it closely. It wasn't a real hand, it was one made of leather and steel. What Edward was saying didn't surprise me- I knew it all to be true. But sometimes, when things are said out loud, they have a different impact than in your head.

Edward was standing up now, holding out his hand for me to grab. I grabbed and he pulled me up with a surprising amount of strength. Sometimes, I forgot how strong Brother really was. "But you don't need to worry, Al. You won't be in that body long enough to get rejected from it. I'll get your body back, and soon."

As we walked back to the house, a small sniffle escaped me. "Thanks, Brother."


End file.
